The Outer Ring
by GhostAnn
Summary: It's been centuries since Danny entered the Portal. During one of his down times while isolating himself in an attempt to find a new peace with his existence he's visited by Clockwork. Who hopes to draw him into fulfilling a task requested by what he refers to as The Outer Ring. (foul language warning)
1. Chapter 1

_AN: This wasn't supposed to happen. This story wasn't supposed to happen. I've never ever been bitten by the plot bunny. I've had ideas that I really liked before but I could always set them aside and work on them later but this idea hit me hard and I immediately started writing it. It took me a little over 4 straight hours to write out plus a little bit of editing.  
All I can say is I've seen like 4 Danny Phantom Homestuck crossovers and in each and every one of them Danny is already in the Game and there's no explanation as to why. All the characters know him and I don't know I happened to ponder it and suddenly I had to rectify it. (This is just a one shot. As far as I can see... I will not be continuing this. For my own sanity, as far as I'm concerned, this story is complete.)_

 ** _Edit:_** _This is no longer a oneshot... and, I have gone through and touched up some spelling and grammer... and the number goof..._

 _Anyhow... please enjoy a touch of my insanity..._

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 **The Outer Ring**

It started here… the moment his soul began to reawaken, with a not so simple visit from an old friend.

Clockwork frowned as he looked down at the person he'd come to meet. "Daniel." The ghost of time, having just shifted from an older visage to a prime youth, greeted the perceived boy, who long out grew the title, with a curt nod.

Danny Phantom was curled into a loose ball as he rotated slowly in a vast empty space. His black hazmat suite glowed softly under his own ghostly light. Distant stars twinkled around them. Rotating slowly vibrant green eyes peaked over a shoulder toward his guest. "Clockwork." Phantom greeted tersely. His eyes lacking any interest or surprise that the ancient specters presence normally brought forth from other ghosts who knew him.

The timekeeper glanced around standing at a door that stood opened behind him. It hovered in the open space it's violet door swung in and away from a tear in the otherwise unending spice. The tare seamed to lead into an equally unending green expanse. The master of time noted that it was also the only source of bright light in the vicinity. "I see you've opened up your living space." The ghost words were level and serious, but his words brought a slight smirk to the face of his host.

Slowly Danny rotated until he was able to face his guest and uncurled. He was in no rush. He had nowhere to be and he knew the ghost before him had all the time. With that thought, he looked the ghost up and down. Clockwork seemed to be the picture of calm, but Danny noticed that both his hands gripped his time staff, the only sign that this wasn't simply a leisurely visit. The placement of the ghost hands was so subtle and lacked any obvious distress that most wouldn't even take note of it. Danny did, though he chose not to address it directly. He knew Clockwork would tell him what was the matter in due time, and only if it had anything to do with him. For all he knew Clockwork was looking for an escape and his unease had nothing to do with him.

Danny doubted this, having never known the ghost to run away from his duties no matter how infuriating mundane or taxing. Still, if his friend, by some small chance, did need an escape he would do what he could to help him. It was the least he could do for the old timekeeper.

Rolling his shoulders slightly as he kicked up his feet and reclined back on an invisible sofa he waved his hand slightly as a small table materialized next to them a tea set setting innocently atop it. "Come sit." Danny offered as the world around them shifted from the empty endless expanse of space into a homey living room. Clockwork instantly recognized it as a mock-up of the old Fenton's living space. The invisible couch turned into a plush sofa as Danny settled into it. Clockwork glanced behind him to see a comfortable looking armchair waiting for him. With another wave of his hand the now front door slid shut. "Have some tea." Danny said motioning to the set.

Clockwork managed to keep the smile creeping across his face contained to a small smirk as he shifted into the form of a young boy. "When did you learn to be a gracious host."

Danny snorted as he was pouring a cup of tea for himself. "Being the master of time you should know I've always known how to be a good host." His grin became mischievous. "I just rarely chose to extend that hand of hospitality."

Clockwork grunted in acknowledgment as he settled into the offered seat his body shifting to that of a young man once again. Danny took a sip of tea his brow quirking slightly as he noted how short a time the ghost had spent as a toddler. It spoke volumes of how serious the visit was. Reaching for the tea set the ghost began to speak as he served himself. "It's good to see you, Danny." The ghost said softly. "I know it's lonely for you here."

"You also know that right now I want to be alone." Danny countered.

"I do." Clockwork nodded. "That is why I usually leave you be during your down periods. I know how vital it is for you to get your head straight."

Danny snorted unable to hide the slight bit of disdain in the hum that road with it. "Yeah. We all know what happens when I lose my mind."

Clockwork did not dignify that with an answer as he studied the halfa in front of him. The room was filled with a comfortable silence for a time as the two drank. "That hasn't been an issue for a long time." The ghost finally said.

Grunting Danny shrugged. "Long time or no I'm still stuck under the Observant's microscope."

"Danny…" Clockwork said slowly knowing that his next words would lead to the tensest part of their conversation. He was sensitive to the boy's situation but knew that treading softly here would only lengthen their conversation and needlessly complicate the discussion. "Although the Observant's are still wary of you they are focused on other things these days. You are hardly even a second thought."

Danny blinked. Then laughed. "Whoa. That's a surprise. What happened? Did a new half ghost upstart pop up to capture their attention or something?"

Clockwork sighed knowing that that statement was the way Danny's desire not to be alone manifested itself. Ignoring that he shook his head shifting into an old man. "No. The truth of the matter is that time has just worn away their fear of you."

"Time?" Danny asked his heart clenching at the implications. "How much time?"

"Well…" Clockwork readjusted the timepiece atop his staff. "About a few hundred years." Danny's blank stare and trembling hands were an expected response. The timekeeper sighed. "This is the fifth time you ducked and hid away from the world Daniel. The first time you stayed here in your layer for nearly 3 years. The second time you held up here for half a century. The third time it _was_ a century. Now the forth was only a few years but you have to have noticed that you don't really keep track of time when you fall into these slumps." He gave his friend a pointed look. "This time it has been exactly 413 years 6 months 12 days 10 hours and 25 minutes since you isolated yourself."

Danny blinked. Once. Twice. Then slowly he looked down to the cup in his hands dragging his thumb along the rim of the cup. Biting his lip, he shrugged. "Well…" He let out a slow breath. "Can't say I'm not surprised… How's the world doing? Did I miss World War 3?" He chuckled his eyes suddenly sad.

Clockwork shook his head. "If you want to know you should go find out for yourself. Though I warn you… travel is a bit more complex these days."

"I think I can handle it." Danny said with a slight smile. The two fell into another confrontable silence.

"I hope you know that this is not a simple house call."

Danny sighed setting his empty cup down. "With you it never is."

"The sentiment is shared."

Danny gave a half shrug. "Eh… It'd be boring otherwise. So what is the reason for your visit? Considering your earlier statements, I'll make a wager and say it doesn't involve any evil future me's?"

Chuckling slightly as he shifted to a young adult Clockwork shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, it has little to do with the word you know at all."

Confusion crossed Phantoms face. "How come when you come around you never bring anything I'm accustomed to? It's always something out of left field."

"Beyond the field, I'd say, in this case, from the next ballpark."

Danny's curiosity grew. "Okay. I'll bite. What is it you need me to do?"

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it a need." Clockwork said as he refilled his cup. "More of a request."

"Isn't it always?" Danny asked crossing his arms.

"Well, this is a request for a… well actually from The Outer Ring."

"The Outer Ring?" Danny asked. "What is that?"

"It's a plane of existence on the outskirts of the Ghost Zone. Little is really understood about it other than the fact that it is believed to be the thread that ties the universes together."

"Universes?" Danny asked eyes wide. "As in more than one?"

"Well…" Clockwork sighed. "The thing is the world in which all things live is highly complex. It's a highly tangled mess of time and space. So complex in fact, that even I do not fully understand it."

"Whoa."

Danny looked like his mind had just been blown but Clockwork pushed forward knowing that the conversation needed to keep moving. "This is all so over my own head that I refuse to even attempt to explain the bits and pieces I do understand to you. Just understand this. The inhabitants of The Outer Ring are not like anything you've ever encountered before. They are hard to take in and your encounter with them, should you accept to help, will be blissfully short."

"So… these inhabitants…" Danny chose to stick to the word Clockwork used feeling that the ghost had used it deliberately. "They are asking for my help?"

"In a sense. It's more or less that they have made a… contract with a being and are attempting to fulfill their end of the bargain if you will. They feel that your nature will be more welcome in the universe they are trying to aid than one of their own."

"What kind of contract?"

"That I do not know. The place they wish to send you to is outside of my reach. If you go with this, I will not be able to help you. You will only be able to return once those in The Outer Ring have chosen to return you."

"That sounds kind of risky… I know nothing about this Outer Ring… how can I trust that they won't just leave me where they please?"

Clockwork actually shrugged. "You don't, but Danny… would it really change anything if they did?" With that the ghost of time looked around them as the living space faded back into the empty expanse of space.

Danny sighed as he looked around. "Well… I was getting tired of just floating around… at the very least this'll give me something to do with my time."

Clockwork nodded his face void of any clear expression. "Then it's settled."

Danny laughed. "Right. So when do I leave?"

"Now."

Danny felt a pull at his abdomen and gasped as he looked down to see a tactical wrapped around his waist. Looking back, he saw it was reaching out of nothing. With a startled yelp he turned to see the world suddenly warp and Clockworks form vanish before him. Instantly, and uncomfortably, Danny found himself within a hoard of what he could only describe as monsters.

They were all smashed together writhing in some kind of pile. Danny was wrapped in the abducting tentacles, his face smashed up against something scaly. Something huge and slimy slithered against the other side of his face, pinning his head. A large red eye blinked at him his horror-filled face reflecting back at him clearly in its large pupil. Danny felt something pushing up against his mind. It felt like something in his head snapped and his eyes went wide as he let out a scream. Feeling like his brain was being shifted through haphazardly he gritted his teeth as indistinguishable voices and screeches filled his mind. They collapsed into a roaring presence that spoke to him. It wasn't a voice though. It felt more like every word was its own presence- its own being.

 **DANNY… DANNY PHANTOM… GHOST CHILD…**

They hissed in his mind and he let out a choked sound. Pain and fear suddenly falling back to a shattering numbness that became his whole existence.

 **YOU HAVE TAKEN UP THE TASK. THE TASK. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR FULFILLING OUR WILL. OUR WILL. DO NOT FAIL.**

Breath slammed into his chest as his body suddenly kicked into survival mode, overriding the lack of instruction from his brain, it was a sudden and automatic action that shook Danny out of his stupor. Breathing greedily, he only partially wondered how he could take in oxygen under such a mass of monstrous beings before he found his voice. "Y-Your will?" He croaked. "What- What do you mean?"

There was an indescribable screech that cut through his mind causing him to curl slightly his hands reaching for his head only to get caught somewhere along the way.

 **ROSE LALONDE HAS MADE CONTRACT WITH US. HER WILL IS OUR WILL. PROTECT LALONDE.**

"R-Rose?" An image flew through his head of a pale girl with short bobbed hair and lavender eyes. She wore what looked to be a set of orange pajamas. Without warning, the presence in his mind vanished and Danny found himself in a bright white light feeling as though he was falling. Gasping for air trying to come to grips with what just happened to him he tried to discern if there was an up or down. The light started to fade to black sparking like lightning here and there just as Danny collided with something solid face first. His back rolled over his head and his feet hit the ground. Groaning he fell to the side. "I think I just got raped." He murmured to the hard surface in his face.

Then he heard voices. Real voices. Not the terrifying grind of those horror terrors that threatened to rip his mind and soul apart. These new voices were garbled in his confused state. The sounds were just bouncing around in his now empty head as he tried to pull the pieces of his mind back together into something resembling functioning. One voice cut in clear as a bell the words shaking slightly. "What the hell did you do Lalonde?"

* * *

 _AN: I know that it Homestuck that the Horrorterrors are creatures that reside in the Furthest Ring... but I'm having the ghost refer to it differently to show that the universes are different. If I continue this story (and I'll post a chapter to announce when that happens here) this would probably be cleared up... since this is just a one shot right now... it's not as clear. Anyway, thank you for reading!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, I'm kind of continuing this._ _Honestly, I just wanted to write. I want to work on my other stories but I just can't focus... Life has been... interesting. I had a nice little vacation. My first time overseas... but life gives and takes... I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. Not that I ever really did. Please bear with me as I try to find my footing... I do hope you enjoy this addition to this story._

* * *

"What the hell did you do Lalonde?" He heard the shaking voice of a boy. His head hurt and he was trying to understand why that name seemed important.

"What the HELL were you thinking?" Another voice yelled, raspier than the first as if its holder did a lot of said yelling. Danny wasn't sure, he still had his eyes closed and his nose pressed firmly to the ground. He wasn't yet ready to process anything.

"I merely tapped into a resource. We need the help." A calm female voice replied. The image of a girl- no _the_ girl- Rose flashed in Danny's mind. He silently wondered if it was her. That would make things so much easier.

"By using dark magic!" The voice of the other boy barked back incredulously. His voice squeaked just slightly making Danny winced. "You're lucky you didn't go Dark on us! How would we communicate with you to finish your brilliant plan if only screams of the damned were coming out of your mouth?!"

Screams of the damned sounded like a pretty good description for the voices that broke his mind. Deciding it was time to get his bearings Danny attempted to move only to end up curling into himself with a pained groan and felt more than saw the people around him go tense. "You don't know what that thing is!" The yeller said a slight panic in his voice.

"He look's... human." The girl said a slight color of surprise coating her voice.

"Great." The raspy voice grumbled. "Like we need more of your weak species."

The girl sighed. "Though I'd hate to agree with you I am a bit disappointed. I was hoping it would be some kind of Horrorterror."

There was a snort and the other boy spoke with so much sarcasm Danny was surprised he didn't choke on it. "Oh yeah, because dealing with one of those would have been a walk in the park."

There was a light touch to his shoulder as he heard the girl's voice close and above him. "Shh!" She berated the other two before her voice became more level. "Hey…" She shook his shoulder lightly initiating a groan from the halfa. "I hate to be rude but the floor is not the place to be taking a nap- plus… if nothing else I think it best that we at least discuss our predicament. Yours and ours."

"Do you think he can understand us?" Danny finally coaxed his eyes open in time to see that the speaker was a pale blond boy who had a striking resemblance to the Rose girl he was supposed to be helping. Though half of it was covered by aviator glasses. "Whoa…" The kid took a step back as Danny glanced upwards toward the female. Sure enough, there was a stoic-looking Rose Lalonde leaning over him.

"Welcome to the land of the living." Rose said with a slight upturn of her violet colored lips. "Can you speak?"

Danny blinked and felt a slight smirk play at his lips. "Y-yeah." Setting up he rubbed his head looking at the girl who inadvertently called on him. "I'm really glad you're here. I am not up for a hunt right now."

The boy in sunglasses stiffened, as a sword materialized in his hand. "You hear that he's here to hunt you down!"

"What?" Danny blinked shocked by the magic sword. Then the words sunk into his still numb skull and he shook it. "No. No. I'm here to help Rose Lalonde. Her will is their will. Or so I was told." He gripped his head as it pounded with his slow heartbeat. "Seriously, I hope I don't ever have to talk to one of those beings again."

"Beings? You are not a monster from the Furthest Ring?"

Danny blinked. "Furthest… Oh. You mean like the Outer Ring? No." He rubbed his head. "They did send me here though. I guess because you asked… or something...?"

Rose blinked. "I see." She did not seem pleased. Though Danny deduced she didn't seem particularly upset either.

"Okay. That proves your little magic light show did something!" The raspy-voiced speaker growled from behind him and Danny turned to see a... what looked to be a boy with gray skin and small candy corn horns. His eyes were narrowed at Danny.

The ghostly boy stared a moment taking in the yellow eyes with grey irises. "Hm…" He said. "You're not human."

"No shit!" The creature growled showing off a pretty row of sharp teeth. "I'm a troll. We eat humans for breakfast."

Danny hummed. "You keep interesting company then."

Rose laughed. "I think Karkat like's you." This elicited a growl from the troll. "Most definitely a sign of troll love right there."

Danny blinked turning to the gray being. Then he shook his head and smiled. "So your name is Karkat."

"You told it my name!" Karkat growled as he snarled at the blond.

Danny chuckled having long gotten used to being referred to as everything from "it" to "monster." To be honest between the two he preferred the latter, if only because it gave more of an identity, even if it wasn't so positive. "Don't worry I can't do anything with a name." Pushing himself to his feet he held out his hand to Rose. "Hello, Rose. I'm Danny Phantom and I'm here to…" He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, honestly I don't really know why I'm here. I had nothing better to do and wrongly assumed it would be explained to me on the way."

"Well, we should rectify that then." Rose said shaking his hand. "Let's get the formalities out of the way first. You've been introduced to Karkat Vantas." She nodded to the troll then motioned to the other boy. "This 'cool dude' here is my friend and ecto bro Dave Strider."

Danny's eyes widened slightly at the turn of phrase. "Ecto... bro?"

"Long story." She said simply. There was the sound of a distant honking and Roses face fell minutely. Dave's left eyebrow rose just ever so slightly, and Karkat stiffened. "We... should probably go meet with the others before we start." The girl said belying any feelings toward the sound.

Danny was about to ask about the noise but paused. "Others? How many others are there." Danny was horrible with names and years of isolation had only made that trait worse. He hoped there weren't too many faces to keep up with.

"Let's see…" Rose said tapping her finger to her lips.

Danny glanced around and noticed they were in some sort of cave. "Also, where are we?"

"I believe there are a little over a dozen of us- if you count the sprites... as for where we are..." She motioned him to follow her up a staircase. Silently he wondered why a well-carved staircase would lead to such a strange location. Especially since the cave, they were in seemed to be empty save for its currently retreating inhabitants. As they walked Danny glanced around at the narrow walls that now surrounded them as they climbed the frustratingly steep stairway. He waited for Rose to finish her sentence but she hesitated. "Currently we are between sessions."

Danny's head tilted. "The game we were in was corrupted." Dave said.

"These idiots found a way to scratch into a new version. We're headed there now."

Danny blinked. None of what these kids were saying made sense. Scratch? Session? Game? "What?"

"We broke our game." Rose said.

"Game?" Danny asked.

Rose stopped turning just slightly to look at him. "Do you really know nothing?"

Danny shrugged realizing she was talking about the strange predicament they found themselves in. "I told you... I was bored and then I was here... The... bit... in between..." Danny shook his head trying to shake off the memory. "It was less than informative..." He tried to smile but her gaze was growing darker by the second and his mouth twitched with uncertainty.

"Good job Rose. You summoned a noob." Dave said with a slow clap.

Danny couldn't help but glare back at the boy, getting a micro flinch in response.

"This is all fascinating." The troll said with dripping sarcasm glaring up at him. "Really, enlightening, but if you don't mind... I'D LIKE TO GET PAST THE FUCKING STAIRS!"

Rose proceeded up said stairs with a slight eye roll. "It does seem we have a lot to discuss."

"So you're talking about a game- like a video game?" Dave snorted.

"It's much more interactive than just that." Rose said.

"All this talk of games... do you guys like them? Games, I mean."

"Ha!" A sharp laugh left Karkat who was following close behind him. "Is that some kind of sick joke?"

"What? No."

Rose laughed lightly. "To put it as bluntly as possible. We are in a game."

The "Hu?" That left Danny's mouth was not the most pleasant sound. It was a strange mix of disbelief surprise and mirth. "So like role play?"

"Hardly." Rose said then paused in thought so thoroughly she halted their progress up the one-person wide corridor again. "Forgive me if I'm wrong Mr. Phantom but did I detect a flavor of amused doubt in your eloquent response? I assure you if this were simply a game of LARP I would not have gone to such extremes as to summon a being from beyond the Furthest Ring." She shrugged before continuing their progress. "Though I guess that would have been amusing in its own right."

Danny worked his jaw a moment fighting back a sharp response as Rose's tone made him feel as though she were belittling him. Rose was, after all, the reason he was here. He didn't know what she- or heaven forbid the Horrorterrors- would be able to do if he pissed her or the Outer Ring off. Taking a breath, he resolved himself to be civil as their group continued up. "You can just call me Danny." His words came out short and clipped and he balled his fist, internally disappointed in his lack of self-control. Though he really shouldn't be so hard on himself considering he'd spent the last 413 years curled in a ball floating through virtual space. Shaking his head, he decided to dig deeper. "So it's not LARP and it's not a virtual-

"I wouldn't go so far to say it's not virtual..." Rose countered.

"Yeah, it did start out on the computer. With a disc and everything." Dave said. "Then the virtual part of virtual reality turned real quick into actual reality."

Rose nodded. "Eloquently appropriate in a way and for most back home it would be hard to believe. I take it it's the same for you?"

"Uh… it would be shocking and downright unbelievable to the people I grew up with… though if it would shock the ones living in my world now I could only guess…" He cleared his throat. "As for me… well, it's been a while… but I'd be lying if I said I've never been in a game before."

Rose glanced over her shoulder at him her brow up in a sign of curiosity. "Interesting."

They continued for a bit and Danny felt a slight wash of relief as a rectangle of light became visible just meters away. "To be fair though… I doubt your experiences are the same." Rose stated out of nowhere. "To be frank this game is entirely immersive. It destroyed our homes and nearly killed us. To fight back we broke our game and find ourselves desperately fleeing to the next."

"Sorry…" Danny said slowing only to have Karkat growl about the fact that they were never going to get out of the corridor of never-ending stairs at this point. Taking the hint, the ghost-boy picked up his pace. "That doesn't sound like a game to me…"

"Oh?"

"No…" Danny said. "Immersion aside… If it destroyed your homes… how can you simply call it a game?"

"Uh… because it is." Dave said from behind Karkat. Danny didn't bother arguing with them. These kids wanted to call their struggle a game who was he to argue. Hell, for all he knew it really was just a game.

The top of the stairs opened up immediately and Danny took in a deep breath before he looked around. They'd come up into a large common area. In the center of the room sitting atop a large red rug was a half circle of sofas. The walls were that same cave-like material but despite that the room felt warm with the many lamps that were scattered about. Odd piles of random items littered the floor. It looked like there was another level, just above, with two small flights of stairs on opposite sides of the wall, each sitting next to a large door.

"ROOOOSE!" An energetic voice chortled as a blue blur rushed into said girl. When the blur settled it turned out to be a scrawny kid with blue eyes and black hair. His limbs were wrapped around the girl. The kid was so gangly he made Danny feel less like the twig he was. "I heard you were going Dark! I'm so happy to see you're not gray and spooky! Not that being gray and spooky is bad- I just like it best when we can talk."

"Hello, John." Rose greeted calmly. "I'm glad that you enjoy our conversations. Dave had said something similar." The girl glanced back at her maybe brother with a smirk as she pried John's hands off of her.

Dave crossed his arms turning his head away. "No, I did not. I just didn't want to deal with demon speak."

Roses smirk grew. "Right."

John had noticed Danny by now and was giving him a once over. When their eyes met the boy stared for a moment before breaking into a large grin. "Woah! Did you know you glow?"

"What?" Danny asked putting as much shock and surprise into his voice as he could muster as he looked down at himself. Rose let out a snort of a laugh in response.

"How do you not know something like that?" Karkat asked venomously.

"Chill." Danny said waving his hand. "I was just joking. Of course, I know I glow. I've been able to glow for the last…" Danny stopped. "Uh… wait I'm bad at math…" He held up three fingers then one then another. "Uh… I guess 600 years or so?"

"Hum… I wonder how your world's time flows in regards to Earth. You don't look a day over 14."

"You look about 6 to me." Karkat said with a nod.

Danny glanced at Karkat then rubbed the back of his neck and let out a curt laugh. "Yeah… well… according to the time the Earth in my universe followed I would have lived more than 5 lifetimes at this point."

"That explains the white hair." Dave said. "It shows his age."

"What?" Danny was surprised this time. "No. My hair has always been... when I'm... Like this... I mean..." Danny refrained from clarifying that that was only when he was a ghost. Past experience told him people tended to freak out the moment you told them you were kind of dead.

John's head tilted to the side like a confused puppy. "Like this? What do you mean? When you're what?"

Danny stiffened. Rose hummed, clicking her tongue. "This is better but still not a good place to hold such a complex conversation. How about we all migrate a few feet in this direction." She gestured toward the couches. Danny sighed. "Then you can tell us a little more about yourself Mr. Phantom."

"Hey," Danny glared at her. "I told you to call me Danny!"

"Phantom?" John asked looking at Rose then at Danny. Suddenly he pointed at Danny fully animated as he yelled. "YOU'RE A GHOST!?"

"Ghost only exist in Dream Bubbles dumb-ass." Karkat smacked John on the back of the head. Danny blinked.

"Dream bubbles?"

The group looked at him at once. "I guess you wouldn't know would you?" Rose smiled. "Come. I'll fetch us some tea."

"How are you coming on that A.J.?" Dave asked watching her walk by.

Rose twitched. "It isn't so easy to make something so simple." Rose stated bluntly before leaving them into another room.

Now Danny's head was tilting to the side as he made his way to the couches following the grumpy troll. Karkat took a seat at the end of one of the couches and Danny took a seat in the middle of the one across from the troll. The ghost studied the alien as Karkat sat with his chin on his palm and a generally irritated look on his face.

John sat next to Danny on the arm of the couch his feet next to Danny's leg. The boy looked about ready to explode with excitement. Dave took a seat next to Karkat leaning back as he coolly crossed his arms. "So..." Dave said.

Danny nodded in response and twiddled with his thumbs suddenly aware of his own awkward self. "So." Danny could see his green eyes reflecting back at him in the stupidly reflective glasses of the 'cool kid.' "What?" He frowned.

Dave shrugged. "I just think it's weird. That you don't know anything."

"I just got sucked through an orgy of terrifying monsters and spit into a new universe or whatever." Danny shrugged. "They only told me to protect Rose Lalond." Danny put up his arms and let them become tentacle-like as he wiggled them around. He let his voice drop as deep as he could manage and said. "Our will is her will." He allowed his arms to return to normal as he placed them on his lap and let out a sigh. "Or something like that."

Even with the sunglasses, Danny could see the disgust on Dave's face. "That was a weird trick." Slightly surprised by the lack of a yell in the voice Danny looked over to Karkat who for the first time was showing another emotion other than anger. It was an amazing kind of curiosity.

Danny couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "If you think that was cool you should wait and see what I can really do."

Danny blinked as Karkat looked away with an angry grunt. "What are you?" Dave asked doing nothing to hide his distrust.

Danny swallowed then gave a weak smile as he looked away. "Do you really need to know?"

Somehow Dave's glasses flashed his mouth down in an angry frown. "With a response like that, I'd say I'm dying to know." Danny chuckled sadly.

"Don't be so mean." He heard from beside him. "Danny's here to help Rose. That means he's here to help us." Blinking Danny looked to his side to see John giving him a reassuring smile. "I think he's kind of funny."

A green tent flushed through Danny's cheeks. "Th-thanks. Honestly, I don't know yet what you're dealing with, but if it's firepower you need I've got plenty of it." He smiled at John his gaze sliding over Dave's miss trust and falling on Karkat once again. The troll's face was curious but closed off.

' _These guys seem interesting_.' Danny thought his smile growing more genuine. "I feel like this will be fun." He said watching as a red blush touched Karkat's cheeks. Almost simultaneously ghost and troll showed looks of confusion.

* * *

 _Not much happening yet... man... is it me or is Karkat actually enamored by Danny?  
Seriously, that wasn't my initial intent. Karkat, stop being an overly emotional/hormonal troll! I don't know how to write romance! Please don't do this to me Karkat! Oh, wait you are obsessed with romcoms... what am I saying? I'm doomed and so are you. Nothing but pain can come from this! You hear me Karkat!?  
Of course, he can't... I'm not even in the same universe... The Hussy of this universe probably already realized this is a paradoxical universe and is off chasing horses... or Vriska... or both. Yeah, probably both.  
Anyway... Now that I got that all off my chest thank you for reading- also... if you want romance in this story better tell me now or the hammer will come down on this hard an all you'll be reading is kindergarten level puppy love- most possibly one-sided... depending on these crazy characters... plus, any theories on Danny's human half. I already have that planned out but I'm curious to see if you guys have any preferences._

 _Please comment, thanks again for reading and have a great day!_


	3. Chapter 3

It was a long sit in where Danny met everyone. Karkat was the smallest of the trolls present. Apparently, something had gone wrong and several of their friends had died. Danny felt a quick sharp pain pull at his heart. Like a snapping guitar string. These kids were pre-teens. What cruel fate saw it fit to have them fighting, essentially, a war? He closed his eyes taking in a sharp breath as the kids and trolls told him of their journey through a strange game that fostered destruction but ultimately leads to creation. Danny wasn't sure the pay off was worth it. Then again, if the world was fated to be destroyed anyway, maybe they were the lucky ones.

Then there was Terezi. She had sharp horns and a shark-toothed smile. She didn't hide the fact that she was blind. Almost bragging about it. It was kind of a relief to know why she had sniffed him when she walked in. Though, he still wasn't sure why she had giggled her face scrunching up slightly. "Oooh, sour apple. Got a little bite new boy?"

Danny just scratched the back of his neck unsure of how to respond to that one. Watching as she leaned up against the couch above Dave.

Then there was Kanaya. She was tall thin and elegant and slightly paler than the other trolls. Her demeanor was calm but also detached. She'd quietly taken a seat next to Dave as Rose sat on the armrest next to her. He wasn't sure how he felt about her yet but at least she was listening and not flat out judging him. At least not openly.

Vriska on the other hand. Danny sighed as the pirate looking girl glared at him from where she leaned against the wall behind the circle of sofas. It was clear she didn't trust him one bit. Still Rose explained her reasoning. The need for aid. Danny nodded as she spoke. These kids did need help and he could do that.

There were two other trolls sitting on the sofa on the middle edge of the half circle. He could hear them whispering but they'd yet to engage in the conversation. One of them, who Karkat had introduced as Sollux, had mismatched black and white shoes and a Gemini symbol on his shirt. Twin horns peaked through his messy black hair.

The one Kanaya introduced as Aradia was a troll with ram-like horns who had a mischievous smile and was wearing what Danny could only describe as red pajamas. On her back, she had vibrant wings that glittered as she moved.

As Danny tried to keep up with the conversations and faces he took note of the other human who had joined them. A girl with gapped teeth similar to johns. Her long hair was covered by the hood of her own pajama-like outfit. Which sported doggy ears. Danny tried not to stare as her ears twitched slightly. She'd been introduced as Jade, John's ecto sister apparently. This was all really confusing and Danny was starting to get a headache.

He sighed glancing over to the small group of three strange creatures called sprites. He couldn't forget about them. There was an old lady going by NannaSprite; a boy with wings who was basically Dave going by DaveSprite; and a cat with… tentacles? Who was named Jaspersprite. They looked ghost-like but that was about it. They caused a tickle in the back of his through as the cold of his ghost sense barely reacted to them. Other than floating he hadn't seen any of them use any powers… but they were just talking so there would be no need to.

He quietly decided to file them under sub ghost in their own category called Sprites. At least in his head anyway. It wasn't like he was going to pull out a PDA and update his ghost files immediately. His fingers twitched. He'd wait till after the conversation.

He'd probably use the device to make a file for the kids and trolls too. There were just so many of them.

"So what exactly are you?" DaveSprite said floating closer. The other two sprites stayed back by another door a good distance away. It seemed like NannaSprite was trying to calm JasperSprite down for some reason.

"Ask away. He won't answer." Dave scoffed crossing his arms.

DaveSprite hummed crossing his arms. It wasn't angry or irritated like Dave it was more like he was analyzing Danny. "Okay. Let me ask another way. Are you dangerous?" It seemed DaveSprite was only determining his threat level.

"Well…" Danny hesitated, looking around the room, John was playing with the end of his hood not really paying attention. Rose and Kanaya were practically sitting on each other's laps waiting patiently. Vriska was still glaring and Terezi was grinning like a mad woman. Jade was smiling encouragingly. Feeling overwhelmed by all the attention Danny felt slightly relieved to see Karkat had his head resting on his palm as he glared at nothing in particular. Danny couldn't tell if he was listening anymore or not. Finally, he took a deep breath. "Am I dangerous… Yes. But not to you!" He added quickly as he saw a downturn of Dave's mouth and felt a slight tension rise in the air. "I am kinda terrified to find out what would happen if I upset Rose or the Beast from the Outer- er I mean Furthest Ring."

"So you're like Rose's butler." DaveSprite smirked, informing rather than asking.

Danny shrugged. "Sure if you wanna think of it like that. Only I don't usually serve tea. I've traditionally only served a hearty plate of whoop ass."

The feathered being chuckled. "We should spar sometime. I think it'd be fun."

Smiling Danny nodded. "I wouldn't mind."

"You want to spar with him?" Dave asked looking confused.

"Yeah. He's strong I can sense it."

Dave frowned. He'd sensed something but he wasn't sure he'd call it strength. It was more like a cold shiver down his spine. It set off all his warning bells. He just didn't trust this Danny Phantom creature.

Vriska bit out a laugh. "Are you kidding this freak looks weaker than all the human's put together!"

Danny glared at the girl for just a fraction of a second his eyes flashing a bright green. The sprites all flinched slightly but Danny calmed himself quickly. There was no point in getting upset over what the girl thought of him.

Dave took a breath, he hadn't missed the flash of irritation in Phantom's eyes. "Weak or not all I want to know is if we can trust you."

Danny smiled looking to him. "Of course! I'm here to help Rose by some sort of contract… I guess… but I'm not limited to that I can help anyone here. Just say the word." He hesitated, continuing to rub his neck nervously. "It's kind of my obsession to help and protect others."

Rose quirked an eyebrow at this and the others seemed confused. "What do you mean obsession?" Kanaya asked.

"I… uh…" Danny laughed. "It's hard to explain? I feel better and more powerful the more I help and protect others… but…" He bit his lip hesitant to continue.

"But?" Jade asked tilting her head slightly.

Danny sighed. "Never mind. I- I don't think we have the level of trust needed for me to share that."

"That's bullshit." Dave said.

DaveSprite scoffed. "No, it isn't. You expect him to tell us all his secrets. We'd have to do the same."

Karkat bit his lip looking down. "I feel like for a first meeting you've been pretty open with us." Terezi said.

"I may have forgotten how to hold back… it has been… a while since I last talked with anyone."

"How long?" John asked with a frown.

"413 years."

There was a long silence after that statement. Danny wondered what they thought of his age. He didn't look too much older than them… but he was. He was much much older… and he'd probably exist long enough to see them all pass of old age… his eyes grew heavy with such thinking. But his bout of melancholy was interrupted by a groan from John. "That number again!?"

Rose giggled. "If nothing else it proves that you very well maybe tied to our session after all."

Danny tilted his head in confusion. Rose waved him off holding her hand to her mouth as she fought back laughter.

"It does seem to be a persistent number within your session. For us trolls, the number that seemed to constantly be around was 612."

Danny just stared at them. It sounded like a crazy conspiracy but after everything else he'd seen and heard it didn't surprise him… though for the game to have affected him in his universe… before he'd even joined… that kind of power… Danny shuttered. He didn't need to think about that.

"Well. You guys are running from this Jack guy and preparing to face off against some big bad guy called Lord English?"

"Yeah." John said. "It's going to be 2 and a half years before we make it to the next session. Where we'll meet with the players there… so like us, I guess? Or no-

"It is supposed to be our guardians, John. Your grandma, my mother, Dave's Bro, Jade's Grandpa."

"Right." John shrugged. "I have a hard time keeping up with all the shenanigans." Then he continued excitedly. "It'll be cool to see Nanna alive. I guess it won't be anything like NannaSprite." John leaned down from his perch on the couch arm and whispered in Danny's ear. "She's half clown right now and I don't know what that did to her personality." Then he straightened and laughed. "Though Dad did always say she was the master of pranks. So maybe it didn't change her all that much."

"What is important now is that we focus on getting there." Kanaya said.

Vriska sighed. "Yes, but what do you plan to do once we get there? It's not like we're any more ready for Lord English now than we were half a year ago."

"True but this time we aren't racing a literal clock this time."

"That we know of." Vriska mumbled.

John gave the troll a soft smile. "Come on Vriska. Don't worry. We're a team. It'll all work out."

The troll scoffed but a small smile played at her lips as she looked away. Karkat scoffed frowning at the wall. "I guess that's one way of looking at it."

"Oh and like you have any better ideas oh gracious leader!"

Danny watched as Karat's fist balled. Then the troll took a deep breath and stood. "I'm not the leader anymore Vriska. Besides… we all know how shit my ideas always turn out. Why don't you guys go have a little pow-wow and vote with the stupid humans on what we should do? Because I'm tired of fucking up! You want to get us all killed when we get there? Be my guest but don't go fucking blaming me because you just want to run in on blind faith!" With that he stocked out of the room.

"Karkat! Hey, wait-

"Just let him go, John." Vriska said. "He want's to mope around for the next few years let him.

"That's not fair Vriska and you know it." Aradia scolded.

"Oh, what, because he can't handle a few people dying I'm the bad guy? I killed lodes of trolls just to feed my lusus!"

"They weren't your friends though!" Kanaya snapped. "Karkat may not have killed any of us but he was our leader- when we fell apart- it hit him hard."

"That wasn't his fault though!" Vriska growled. "Gamzee is a crazy fuck and Eridan wasn't much better!"

"And you?" Terezi asked a deep frown on her face.

"I…" Vriska went silent. "You know what I don't have to put up with this shit. I'm out of here."

"Vriska!" John floated up into the air surprising Danny as he literally flew after the girl.

Rose sighed. "Sometimes I feel like this asteroid runs on drama."

Danny hummed. Feeling his energy running low. He'd forgotten what that felt like. In the Ghost Zone he just absorbed the energy around him… Guess it was back to eating and sleeping like a normal person. He snorted at the idea.

"What's so funny?" Rose asked not missing how he seemed amused.

"Nothing related to what's going on… I just realized it's been a long time since I've been in the living world… I'm going to need to power down and sleep- and eat." He chuckled. "I wonder if I even remember how."

The girl blinked. Ignoring the clear hint as to where he came from she decided to bypass it. "Well if you need sleep there are plenty of rooms or you can crash on one of the piles… the troll's seam fond of sleeping in that manner although they all agree that sleeping in slime is more comfortable. Unfortunately for them, we're all out of slime."

Danny frowned confused. "Okay…"

"As for food, we have a few selections we can create for you. Just let us know or if you have anything in you SYLLADEX you'd prefer…"

Danny's head tilted to the side. "Sy-la-dex?" Danny sounded out the word. "Um…?"

"Maybe he doesn't have one… does Danny even count as a player? He's probably filed closer to a consort." Jade pipped in.

Rose frowned. "Ah, you're right… I hadn't thought of that."

"Or because he comes from another universe it seems he just need's to become aware of the rules." Kanaya suggested moving her hands in a similar fashion a book fell from the air and landed softly in her hands. "This may be a good starting point it's something I found while snooping around and I have no real need for it. I think it actually might belong to Karkat."

Danny took the offered book and looked down at the title. He snorted razing a brow. "SYLLADEX Basic's for Assholes?"

"Well, he is an asshole." Jade said crossing her arms.

"Just read it." Rose said. "I'll go get some food."

Danny sighed and let go of his ghost form. The old familiar rings appearing around his waist. "Sounds good." He smiled as he headed out of the room in search of a quiet place to read.

Jade blinked. "What… what was that?"

"I don't know." Dave said his voice stilted with shock.

"Did he just become human?" Kanaya asked.

Rose just stared after the retreating figure shocked. What had she really summoned?

* * *

 _Authors Notes:_

 _Long time no see... Sorry I've been kind of lurking instead of actually contributing... I had thought I was getting better... and I am... but sometimes day's and weeks pass and I barely notice... I feel better... but I'm still not okay... I think I'm getting there though... So um, thank you for reading... I hope you enjoyed this... I know it was kinda... not much... and I was trying to avoid doing an info dump because most people I imagine reading this will know what they are in for and those who don't can get exposed to it slowly or check out Homestuck themselves... because I'm not writing a synopsis here... it would take way too long. That being said if you do have questions I'm willing to answer them in comment form. :)_

 _Anyway... thank you again for reading and for your patience..._


	4. Chapter 4

Sollux and Aradia sat on the couch watching the strange new member of their little group walk away. "So… that's what we were waiting for?" Sollux asked.

The god of time giggled. "Yes. He's right on time too."

"So this means we need to leave…?" The male troll sounded uncertain.

Aradia pushed back his bangs looking into his eyes one empty and the other blank in his half-dead state. "We have things to take care of… and I know you're worried about your friend… but Danny will help him. Trust me, and when it's all said and done we'll have a new friend. One that you'll probably get along with better than you are imagining."

"Not hard to do." Sollux grumbled then sighed. "Fine… let's go then… I've never been good at goodbyes."

Aradia frowned slightly but nodded taking his hand the two left quietly as the others freaked out about the new boy's weird transformation. "His sour apple flavor got zapped with cold electricity and now he's just like you." Terezi said jabbing a finger into Dave's hair making him jump.

"Ow! Terezi!"

This only left the troll giggling. "He's kinda handsome that way don't you think?"

"You're blind, what would you know." Dave snapped.

DaveSprite chuckled. "Well… I'm going to make sure he doesn't get lost."

"I'll be bringing him food soon… seem's like he's going to end up outside somehow." Rose said.

"You guys do that." Dave said, totally not pouting.

Jade shook her head and leaned her shoulder on Dave. "Maybe it'll liven things up around here… things have been getting awful boring…"

Smiling the boy took her hand and the two left in a flash to hang out on LOHAC.

Danny sat with the book "SYLLADEX Basic's for Assholes" sitting next to him as he typed away at his PDA. The little device glowed a slight green its components infused with their own ghostly energy. He'd had the thing for as long as he could remember. It was like a third arm to him. He knew if he ever lost it he'd be devastated. It wasn't something that was originally his. Though, he couldn't clearly remember it's origins. He knew that the person who gave it to him was very special. Hazel-green eyes and dark skin flashed in his mind's eye and he sighed as he finished filling in the troll's info. He was a bit irritated because he didn't know how to spell their names. Karat's name was entered as 'CarCat' and it just looked wrong. "Yo."

Danny started looking up to see DaveSprite floating his way. Danny just noticed the chill curling in the back of his throat. "Hey."

"What brings you out here?"

"When I heard you guys were on an asteroid I came up hoping to see some stars…" Danny chuckled. "There aren't any…"

"No… star's only exist in universes… we haven't made ours yet."

Danny took a breath. "I see."

"So…" DaveSprite glanced at the book. "Any luck?"

"I guess?" Danny had a slightly perturbed look on his face. "I think I'm missing everything… I don't have a fetch modus. I think I found the Captchalogue but it's grayed out." Danny pulled at the hologram-like object when he thought of it pocketing his PDA as he spoke. "I haven't really messed with the Strife Deck yet… but I don't see me needing it either."

DaveSprite blinked. "You have like energy attacks. Hum… if it weren't for the fact that you have no file's and no link to any of the system data I'd think you were some kind of sprite."

"Hum…" Danny smirked. "Interesting theory…"

"Though I guess if we get down to the nitty-gritty of it all you're more of a cheat than anything else."

"Or a hack." Danny said.

DaveSprite chuckled. "Well if it's a Fetch Modus you need I can give you one of mine. Here." The sprite held out a red card.

Danny blinked. "Wait… what? Why- I mean-"

"Just take it."

The halfa did just that watching amazed as it blinked out of his hand and his SYLLADEX blinked to life with a red hue. "That's I didn't expect-

"If this is because Dave acts like he doesn't trust you that's him." DaveSprite said crossing his arms. "I'm not him."

"I can tell." Danny said. "Are you a clone."

DaveSprite hesitated. "Not really. I'm just a doomed timeline. Didn't you pay attention to our story?"

"Well, yeah… but I might have zoned out once or twice…"

"Don't worry I get it… it's a lot to take in."

"What did you mean? About the doomed timeline?"

"Well, you know Dave can jump through time right?" Danny nodded. "I'm just the result of one of our escapades through time."

"I still don't get how he doesn't mess up the time stream."

"It's our goal to mess it up." DaveSprite said. "Or at least change it for the better. This game is not easy… without our time jumping we wouldn't have gotten this far."

"Wait… but if he jumps back won't he just run into himself?"

"Duh. At the hight of things Dave had like 50 plus stable loops going. There were fifty of him running around in one moment of time. Each of them living different points in his life. If the loop was wrong in any way we'd end up with a Dave split form the Alfa timeline."

"And that's bad."

"Yeah… a Dave doesn't live long after being split from the Alfa timeline. It's like the game's fail safe too, I guess, keep the time wilder's in check. Otherwise, we could just create an army of Dave's. I suppose the game thinks of that as cheating."

Danny's core ached. The more he learned about these kids the worse it got. DaveSprite didn't outright say it but he suggested that he'd seen a few dead Dave's. That couldn't be easy. "Look." Danny looked to the sprite as he spoke again. "I don't really get it… past the fact that it's like in your programming or whatever… this desire to protect and help. I mean. Seriously, you've known us for only a few hours and you're already attached. I…" The bird boy bit his lip. "It's impossible to protect them in this game from everything… especially themselves."

Danny felt his breath catch. "I know." He whispered.

DaveSprite studied him for a moment before crossing his arms. "Well, I said my peace… I'm gonna go now."

"Thanks." Danny smiled. "We should do it again some time… and maybe we can even spar. Invite the others to watch and stuff… I think a demonstration of what I can do would be good for everyone."

"Good idea." DaveSprite nodded.

"And hey… I… I'm here to help you too… not just 'Alfa' Dave."

DaveSprite hesitated then shrugged. "Thanks… I'll keep that in mind."

"See you later Dave!" Danny smiled as the sprite floated away just as the teleporter zapped to life and Rose stepped out holding a cup of tea. "How are you doing?"

"Okay…"

"Do you mind?" She motioned to the space next to him. Danny shook his head and the girl found a seat next to him. "So… this… form… is human?"

"Kinda…" Danny shrugged.

"You look older."

"A little… I stopped aging when I turned, like, 18… I think it was…" Danny rubbed the back of his neck self-conscious. "I know it's weird… I'd almost forgot I could take this form… I don't get tired at home often…"

"So this is like a battery saving state?"

Chuckling Danny nodded his blue eyes shining. "Yeah. That's a good way of looking at it."

"So… you're the answer to my call for help…"

"Yeah…"

There was an awkward silence that suffocated the space between them for a long moment.

"You stopped aging? So… your long years… your 5 lifetimes is unusual?"

"Well, the fact that I had to clarify that kinda say's so don't you think?"

Rose snorted. "Fair enough."

"I was a freak of nature." Danny said. Many years taking away any sting or anger that used to settle with that statement. It was just fact now. Plane and simple. "As far as I know nothing like me ever really existed… "

Shaking her head she pulled out a sub sandwich. "Here… you said you were hungry?"

"Oh, wow. Thanks!" Danny took the food and ate it quickly. "Man I forgot how good real food tasted! This is amazing! Thank you Rose."

"Heh… you're welcome." With that their conversation became more light-hearted as they talked about their respective Earths what they remembered about them. Rose wasn't sure about what Danny was, but she felt she could trust him.

* * *

Authors Note:  
Just a quick word.  
Thank you for all the fave's and follows... I really apriciate them... I'm trying to figure out if I want to take this story to an epic end or just a calm resalution... So I'm sorry for the delay. I hope you have enjoyed and will continue to enjoy this story!


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